Weekend and Knott's Berry Farm

Cathy and I signed docs to refinance our triplex last week. We're hoping this means we will operate in the black. Wouldn't that be nice! :-)

On Friday, Cathy and I visited Chris & Laura Brown's new kitty, Lana. Lana needs to have her nails clipped, so Cathy brought over our clippers to give Laura a hand with Lana. Lana, as cats are wont to do, put up a stiff and razor-clawed resistance, and the feline eventually prevailed against its human oppressors. Ah well. Cathy and I left to lick our wounds and spent the evening at Barnes & Noble reading and sipping tea.

I got up late on Saturday. Cathy ran some errands then woke me about 09:30. We went shopping at the nearest Whole Foods Market we could find in L.A. County. That took us to Torrance, and on the way we literally saw the Goodyear Blimp. We like Whole Foods due to their philosophy of sustainable agriculture and organic farming. The free wireless Internet at the Torrance location doesn't hurt, either. After getting home, we had dinner and watched more of A&E's version of "Pride & Prejudice".

Sunday - Knott's

Sunday was a great day! We got up and went to church (which was unusually sparse). Afterwards we grabbed lunch on the run then went back to Chris & Laura's place. Our good friends Mike & Heather had given us tickets to Knott's Berry Farm for Christmas. We were so busy we never used them. The Browns agreed to come with us to Knott's and we finally went, and with friends!

Chris & Laura used to two blocks from Knott's. We spent most of our time in Ghost Town. We roamed around for a while before riding the Timber Mountain Log Ride and the Calico Mine Ride. Then, Chris and I got on the Silver Bullet, which I promised Heather I would ride.

Now, the Silver Bullt (PDF link for stats ) is an inverted, outside-looping ski lift style ride on a steel, tubular track. In other words, your feet dangle. You start with a 109 feet drop into a Zero-G Roll, then turn into a Cobra Roll, which kindly turns into an outside loop before descending into a corkscrewn and double spiral. We waited in the line for the very front, and I would say the extra wait was truly worth it. The operator of the ride tells you to put your head back and hold the shoulder bars, and he is not kidding! I feel like I need a chiropractor! As Chris and I got off the ride, Laura and Cathy indicated they also wanted to try the Silver Bullet, so all four of us rode it again! Man's it is quite a rush!

By God's kind favor, I managed not to throw up. Or, as Disney Land cast members learn, I did not produce a protein spill.

I think dizziness and slight nausea causes thirst and hunger to come over me. We decided that this would be a good time to rest and enjoy some funnel cake. Ah... funnel cake! :-) Apparently, Chris would have visited Knott's rather frequently if the funnel cakes were accessible before purchasing a park ticket. We enjoyed it very, very much!

I was still feeling queasy, so I watched the others ride WaveSwinger (a witches hat). Chris and I did some acquainting while Cathy & Laura rode the High Sierra Ferris Wheel. It is amazing some much we have in common, though I couldn't do Chris' job. Cathy and Laura already hit it off, so I'm glad I could relate to Chris.

After some shopping and watching the three of them ride the scary "Revolution" ride I felt settled enough for riding Jaguar with the gang. Oddly, I was the only one up for riding Supreme Scream, which is a 200-foot free fall in a harness. We also went to the geode shop and purchased a geode and a cool, carved cat. Chris succumbed to the siren call of ancient meteorites and went home with some new additions to his collection.

Sunday Evening

We left Knott's as they closed the door and went to dinner at Outback Steakhouse. We had the obligatory and very tasty Bloomin' Onion. That was a good dinner and great conversation.

We dropping off the Browns and checked in on the kitty, but Lana had not forgotten her previous encounter with Cathy. Chris & Laura have truly similar interests, and we borrowed Stargate from them. Ah... what a lovely day!